Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. is the most proliﬁc living music producer and the creative
force behind many of the iconic moments in contemporary American popular culture.
As one of the most awarded entertainers and philanthropists of all time, Quincy has the
distinction of being the most nominated Grammy artist ever, having received twentyseven Grammy awards and a record seventy-nine nominations. Additionally he has
earned seven Oscar nominations, as well as an Emmy for his work on Roots. His debut
as a ﬁlmmaker occurred in 1985 when he co-produced Steven Spielberg’s adaptation
of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, which earned 11Academy Award nominations.
Quincy also co-produced the Tony award-nominated Broadway play The Color
Purple. His philanthropic accomplishments include the era-deﬁning beneﬁt concerts,
We Are The World, Net Aid, and We Are The Future. Harvard University named him
Mentor of the Year in 2007. He is the only American musician to receive France’s
Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur. In 2001, Quincy was named a Kennedy Center
Honoree, for his contributions to the cultural fabric of the United States of America;
and most recently was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz
Master, the nation’s highest jazz honor.
Composer, producer, performer, philanthropist, and inﬁnitely gifted musician — a true

Quincy Jones with Studio Musician

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Quincy Jones
renaissance man — Quincy has orchestrated the sounds of Frank Sinatra; co-produced with
and set the ambiance for Steven Spielberg, cultivated the talent of Michael Jackson, and
introduced the world to Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith— just to name a few. He founded
Qwest Records, Qwest Broadcasting, and Vibe Magazine. Quincy is the composer of more
than thirty-eight ﬁlm scores and is a multi- platinum-selling musician.
A paragon of humanitarian thought and action, Quincy played an active role in Rev. Jesse
Jackson’s Operation P.U.S.H., helped found the Institute for Black American Music and
the Black Arts Festival. He created The Quincy Jones Foundation in partnership with
Harvard School of Public Health After Foundation, which spearheads several humanitarian
initiatives to beneﬁt Africa and children in global conﬂict zones.
In honor of Quincy Jones’ seventy-ﬁfth birthday, he is opening his private archives for the
ﬁrst time ever, offering an intimate look into his imagination, enterprise, and humanity in
The Complete Quincy Jones: My Journey & Passions. “The length, breadth, and diversity
of Quincy Jones’ career may only be known for the ﬁrst time through this comprehensive
and visually stimulating volume,” explains Raoul Goff, Publisher and CEO of Insight

Quincy Jones

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The Deﬁant One;
STANLEY KRAMER
by Karen Kramer and Etta Jenkins

Many of the young people today may ask....”Who was Stanley Kramer?” Many

from the baby boomers and on, remember only too well, that Stanley Kramer was one
of the ﬁrst true independent ﬁlmmakers to pave the way for the rest of us. He put his
ﬁnancial security and reputation on the line countless times. He was deﬁant against

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the establishment, injustice, bigotry, mans inhumanity to man and the excessive

abuse of power. He brought to the screen ﬁlms of content and subject matter
that we as a culture wanted to ignore. We were not prepared for change. In fact,
he was the frontrunner on many unpopular subjects particularly the subject....
of civil rights.
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In 1947, one of Stanley Kramer’s earliest ﬁlms,
“Home of the Brave,” dealt with the subject of an
African American soldier feeling the suppression
and bigotry from an all white platoon in the Army.

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Originally, “Home of the Brave,” was a Broadway
play. The story revolved around a Jewish soldier
feeling the threat of discrimination from his Army
peers. Stanley Kramer made a deﬁnitive decision
to change the leading character to an African
American. He knew that the stakes would be high
but he took on the ﬁght for civil rights. He made the
ﬁlm in secret, asking the cast and crew not to reveal
to anyone that an African American would be the
star of the ﬁlm. The actor was James Edwards.
When the ﬁlm was released Stanley was highly
criticized. It was extremely controversial and is
still considered to this day the most picketed ﬁlm
in the history of motion pictures.
1947 seems like a very long time ago. It’s difﬁcult
to fathom today, that just 60 years ago the African
American actor was only allowed to play shoe
shine boys or waiters on trains, etc. In reality, the
discrimination was so rampant that they were not
allowed to frequent our theaters, our restaurants,
drink from the same water fountains, or use our
restrooms. This was reserved for whites only!
Intolerable as that seems today, an African American
actor literally had no future. Stanley Kramer could
not tolerate bigotry and discrimination. He risked
his future to “Change that Perception.”

Stanley’s love for the oppressed had largely to do
with the fact that he was born in “Hell’s Kitchen”
New York in 1913. “Hell’s Kitchen” has been
referred to as the “armpit of America.” In 1913
it was full of gangs and not a safe place to live.
Stanley’s father left his mother the first year of
marriage. He was raised by his mother, a single
parent, which was most unusual for that era.

SPENCER TRACY - SIDNEY POITIER - KATARINE HEPBURN
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She had strong values that served her son very well.
There were few options for someone living in New
York during the early 1900’s. Your future had few
choices....you could become a priest, a prize ﬁghter
or go to prison. It seemed that these early years
shaped his values in the right way.
He entered New York University at 15 and
graduated at 19 at the top of his class where he
was later inducted into New York Universities
Hall of Fame in 1968. During those years, Stanley
was greatly inﬂuenced by President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. While a teenager,
Marion Anderson., an African American Opera Star
was to sing the National Anthem for an organization
called, The Daughters of the American Revolution.
Eleanor Roosevelt was invited to attend. The
committee ruled against Ms. Anderson singing
based on one fact...and one fact alone....she was
black. Mrs. Roosevelt realized the situation and
withdrew her name to attend. She was quoted as
saying “As long as I am First Lady, Ms. Anderson
will sing.” She invited her to sing at the White
House!
The Roosevelt’s were very inﬂuential in recognizing
civil rights and that made a huge impression on a
young Stanley Kramer. He knew only too well,
what it was like to live with bigotry because he was
Jewish. He felt a kinship to anyone who suffered
unjustly based on externals. Stanley wrote Eleanor
Roosevelt and she wrote him back and in time
became his mentor.
Stanley’s mother and “Hell’s Kitchen” stand as a
testimony to all single parents that environment
does not qualify as the deciding factor to what
someone can achieve in life.

”THE DEFIANT ONES” TONY CURTIS and SIDNEY POITIER

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Stanley Kramer was the ﬁrst to break the black list (a list of
writers, actors, producers that were seemingly criticizing
the American way, which was considered subversive)
During the 1940’s and early to middle 1950’s Senator
Joseph McCarthy was conducting hearings against the
entertainment industry for seeming associations with unAmerican activities which deeply effected the careers of
motion picture writers, directors, producers and actors.
These people were black-listed which meant they were not
allowed to make a living or work in our industry. Many
of these black-listed artists left the country, lost homes,
lost all support, were ostracized and many committed
suicide. This was a very bleak and embarrassing time
in our country. If a producer wanted to hire a writer who
had been black- listed, they would often change their
names on the credits. They would meet in out of the
way coffee shops as not to been seen, because they were
afraid of the association and would not pay them their
normal salary.
No ﬁlmmaker was allowed to hire anyone who had been
black-listed.
Stanley Kramer was the ﬁrst to break the blacklist in 1957
by hiring 2 blacklisted writers. He not only paid them
top-dollar he used their real names and then brought them
onto the studio lot and he hired them as actors in the ﬁlm.
These two blacklisted writers were the two truck drivers
who transported Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis to jail in
“The Deﬁant Ones.” In the credits where it says screen
play written by, Stanley zooms in on their close ups and
places their names right under their picture. He deﬁed
the system and fanned the ﬂame. The ﬁlm was extremely
controversial. It was the ﬁrst time an Anglo Saxon and
an African American depicted escaped prisoner, chained
together who settled their differences culturally and
socially and subsequently bonded together in lasting

“IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD”
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. At the time the ﬁlm was made interracial marriage was against
the law in 16 states. Stanley’s life was threatened because of the making of this ﬁlm and yet he was very
proud of the fact that this ﬁlm helped change the law in 16 states. It was nominated for many Oscar
Awards and it was the highest grossing ﬁlm of all time.
Sidney Poitier ask Stanley, “are you sure the country is ready for this type of subject?” Stanley said no,
deﬁantly…”but we’re going to make it anyway.”
There is a moment in the ﬁlm where Spencer Tracy’s character asks Sidney Poitier character, “aren’t

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KAREN SHARPE KRAMER and STANLEY KRAMER
you worried about having children, interracial marriage is against the law in 16 states?” Sidney
Poitiers character replies, “Of course there’s going to be children, we think he will be President of
the United States or at least Secretary of State…” How prophetic was that?
Stanley Kramer believed so totally in what he was doing and what the country should stand for…
the equality of all men. One statement that sums up Stanley Kramer from his ﬁlm, “Judgment
at Nurenberg,” the line spoken by Spencer Tracy’s character at the summation of the Nurenberg
trial, “Let it be noted that this is what we stand for, Truth, Justice and the Value of a single human
being.” That was Stanley Kramer.
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THE KAREN SHARPE KRAMER STORY
A Tele-Play in Three Acts
by Robert Cohen
ACT ONE
The time, a year or so after World War II. The place, Los Angeles.
Karen Sharpe, age 12, born and raised in Texas and already a champion ice skater,
convinces her parents to let her travel by train to Los Angeles to visit her aunt and uncle
so she can meet movie stars. She does just that, meeting her movie hero, Larry Parks
(the star of The Al Jolson Story) and his wife, actress Betty Garrett in the lobby of the
Beverly Hills Hotel. Karen visits with them at their Beverly Hills home the next day
and has them autograph her scrap book of The Jolson Story. (They become life long
friends.)
At age 14, Karen moves, on her own, to Los Angeles, to pursue her dream of becoming a
star. She attends Hollywood Professional School during the days (with fellow classmate
James Dean) and performs in the L.A. theater scene at night, learning her craft and
style as an actress. At age 15 she has her ﬁrst major studio screen test. It is a disaster;
she is undeterred. She is blessed with extraordinary beauty, great talent, intelligence,
and most importantly incredible energy and determination. She perseveres with great
enthusiasm.
At age 20, she has already starred in several movies and is awarded the Golden
Globe Award for her role in Hollywood’s ﬁrst, full ﬂedged disaster movie, The High
and The Mighty, starring John Wayne.
Between the mid-50’s and mid-60’s she is one of Hollywood’s most active and sought
after leading ladies in scores of top tv series, live dramas and specials. She is a star
and hugely popular both inside the industry and outside the industry with movie and
television viewers. But acting is not enough. She meets, falls in love with and marries
internationally loved and renown director/producer Stanley Kramer. She gives up her
remarkably successful career — one that she has focused on, almost exclusively, for
decades.

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ACT TWO
Karen Sharpe Kramer is born and so are the Kramer’s two daughters, Katharine and
Jennifer. Karen devotes herself to her family and begins producing, not acting in, movies
with Stanley. Karen and Stanley travel the world, producing controversial, brilliant,
always poignant and meaningful movies. On a whim she decides to move the family
to Seattle so that their children can grow up away from the spotlight and pace of L.A.
The family becomes an important ﬁxture of the Seattle arts and theater community. As
usual Karen is unstoppable, immediately offering master classes in acting, theater
and ﬁlm at a local major university, importing major stars such as Jane Fonda to
lead special classes and symposiums and developing local talent into major stars
including Brendan Fraser. The years pass on, the girls grow up, Stanley’s health
declines and the family moves back to Southern California for Stanley’s ﬁnal years.
ACT THREE
Karen is now alone. But not really. She has her daughters, she has her health, and she
has her memories. But she has more — much more. She still has her boundless energy
and desire for the world to be a better place and for the next generations to enjoy and
learn from Stanley’s incredible body of magical and spell binding motion pictures that
questioned man’s values and mores. And she is especially proud of the social themes
and controversies that Stanley’s movies explored decades ahead of their time.
She produces The Stanley Kramer Film Collection with Sony Pictures. She produces
a remake of High Noon. She maintains and oversees the Stanley Kramer Library and
establishes the Stanley Kramer Award at the Producer’s Guild and the Stanley Kramer
Award in Directing at UCLA. She oversees the creation of the Stanley Kramer Theater
at the Sunset Gower Studios (formerly Columbia Pictures) — a special screening theater
that is the most exclusive and state of the art screening room in Hollywood.
And, she decides to resume her acting career that has been in suspended animation
for 41 years! 41 years since the release of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Yes, it
is ﬁnally time for an African American to do anything in the world that he wants to
do— even be President of the United States. And it is time for Karen to get back in
front of the camera.

(Note to Tele-play Director : Tele-play is to be in black and
white; because that’s the way Stanley would have done it.)
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Glynn Turman celebrates Emmy:
Glynn Turman, veteran actor, who has a career that spans ﬁve decades, was awarded his very ﬁrst Emmy
at this year’s 60th Annual PrimeTime Emmy Awards, as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Turman’s pivotal role as Alex Sr. in HBO’s critically acclaimed series In Treatment made the
viewing public stand up and take notice. The former ‘A Different World’ star beat out other
heavyweights such as Robin Williams, Stanley Tucci, Charles Durning, Robert Morse and Oliver
Pratt for the coveted honor. Turman shared, “I feel honored, certainly humbled and most

GLYNN TURMAN
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deﬁnitely blessed. I have been able to support myself, raise a family and at times contribute meaningful
commentary to our society as a whole and it has made this ride very fulﬁlling.”
With his love for theatre, in the midst of it all, he has just completed a one month run as the lead in August
Wilson’s original Broadway play “Two Trains Running” and has a recurring role on the new season of the
proven successful series In Treatment.

Celebrates
EMMY
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Hilliard Elkins
It’s difﬁcult

to say the name, Hillard Elkins, and not think of such
Broadway productions as; ‘Oh Calcutta’, ‘Golden Boy’, ‘A Street Car
Named Desire’ and ‘The Rothschilds’. His early ﬁlms include; ‘Richard
Pryor Live in Concert’ and Arthur Penn’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ just to name
a few.
Mr. Elkins has produced numerous plays as well as developed careers such
as; Steve McQueen, Claire Bloom, Sammy Davis Jr., James Coburn, Louis
Gossett Jr., Glynn Turman and the list goes on. Mr. Elkins is a pillar in the
theatre community, a maverick if you will of uncommon pedigree. Even
in his latter years, he exudes a conﬁdence that is only granted to those
who have taken many turns in life and made the journey. He continues to
build careers from the ground up, ensuring that potential is molded into
authentic talent.
“As an agent you ﬁnd talent, work with talent and ultimately get jobs
for talented individuals. You also negotiate their deal which is not unlike
producing; where you acquire a property and develop it and go through the
steps of producing it.”
Mr. Elkins’ career longevity can be attributed to several things, a Godgiven talent to make an individual a star, the ability to change-as do times
and seasons and thirdly, sheer hard work. He began in theatre at the City
Radio Workshop in the early 40’s, where he learned the ins and outs of
acting and producing, sound engineering and the day to day operations of
a stage hand. The workshop opened up a whole new world to Hilly (as he
is affectionately known). His love for the theatre existed within him with
no struggle, it is his organic speciﬁc, and nothing would satisfy like it.
With an afﬁnity for theatre, tools; mouth, hands and brain, Mr. Elkins set
out to build an empire from the ground up. He realized that aside from
being a good announcer, he also enjoyed putting things together. The young
Mr. Elkins made his way to the William Morris agency where he quickly
made friends and climbed the ladder at a rather swift pace.
Case in point, “A young actor walks into my ofﬁce that I didn’t know
and says, “May I audition for you?” and I said, “Of course.” He was
wonderful, I introduced him to the other guys and we signed him. He has
and continues to have a phenomenal career. I still represent him today. At
the time I believe, we were both 17 and a half, His name is Robert Culp.”
Mr. Culp was responsible for writing the “I Spy” episode which won Bill
Cosby his ﬁrst Emmy.”
From the mid 50’s to the early 60’s, Mr. Elkins ran his own personal
management ﬁrm, representing such clients as; Lee Adams and Charles
Strouse (3 time Tony award winning composer and lyricist), Mel Brooks
(Actor and grand master of movie satire), Gypsy Rose Lee (actress, writer),
James Komack (actor, writer, producer of Chico and the Man, Welcome
Back Kotter and singer on the ‘Nat King Cole Show’), Steve McQueen
(Classic American Legend), Herbert Ross (Choreographer, director
Footloose and Funny Girl, producer), Mike Stewart (writer for ‘Bye Bye

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Hilliard Elkins
A TASTE OF HONEY
Birdie’ and ‘Hello Dolly’), Ben Vereen (2 time Tony Award winning actor) and
Georgia Brown; who came over from England with the Beatles and was featured
on the same Ed Sullivan show ( Mr. Elkins received a Drama Critics Circle
Award for his presentation of Georgia Brown in her one-woman show “Georgia
Brown and Friends.”) The list of individuals as well as accolades goes on.
The sixties were a tumultuous time for every industry, including Hollywood. The
country was divided by racial lines and man’s ignorance of mankind. There was
a ‘Voice’ in the South preaching equality for every man, admonishing us to love
our neighbor and judge no man by the color of his skin, but by the content of his
character. Mr. Elkins heard that voice and responded. While producing Golden
Boy, he decided to change the leading role from and Italian kid searching for his
break to a black man searching for his future.
“One day I get a call from Harry Belafonte. He said, “Hill we need some help.”
I said, “What do you need?” Harry says, “We’re going down to Selma, Alabama
with Dr. King and we would like you and Sammy to come with us.” I said,
“No problem, I’ll go talk to Sammy and I’ll call you back.” I go down stairs to
Sammy’s dressing room. I said, “Sammy I just got a call from Harry, Dr. King
is giving a speech in Selma and they want us to come.” Sammy says, “No Way
Am I Going to the South, NO WAY!”
I say, “Sammy, this is Dr. King.” He said, “I know and I respect him, but no way
am I going to the south!” I said ok and went back upstairs to my ofﬁce. I called
him back and said, “Harry, we have a problem,” he said, “what’s the problem?”
I said, “Sammy doesn’t want to go south and he asked me to tell you that I
couldn’t afford to close the show. (Sammy was starring in Golden Boy at the
time)” He said, “Could you afford to close the show?” I said, “Of course,” he
said, “tell him I bought the night.” I go back down stairs and say, “Sammy we
got a problem,” he said, “what’s the problem?” I said, “Harry bought the night.”
Sammy was livid!
“So it’s Me, Sammy, Charles Strouse, Sheila Sullivan (my then-ﬁancée and
leading lady understudy), Lee Adams, and George Rhodes (Sammy’s conductor).
As we were preparing to go, George put his hand up and said, “See Ya,” he
wasn’t going down south. Charlie said, “I can conduct.”
“We boarded the plane and within 5 minutes we heard the n-word ﬂying around
the cabin. This was 1965 with a plane full of southerners headed south. As
we are getting off the plane, Sammy’s in deep conversation with Sheila as they
head out the door together. I say, Sammy, Sammy, remember where you are.”
He looked at me with this I told you I didn’t want to come in the ﬁrst place look
and said, Ok.ok.”
“We got into the car and started driving. The ﬁrst thing we heard on the car radio
was “This is ABC- The White News.” The ﬁrst thing we saw was a huge bill
board that read ‘HELP KEEP THE U.S. OUT OF THE UN’! (giving an idea of
the mindset of the region).
There we were a car full of white liberals headed for a black hotel, which was
the only place we could stay. We got up the next morning and boarded the buses
and headed to the sight where the speech was to be held. We looked and we
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Hilliard Elkins
were surrounded and protected by the Alabama National Guard (which
was not all that reassuring). We exited the buses and assembled ourselves.
Dr. King gave his historic speech. Sammy admitted later he was glad he
had attended.”
Mr. Elkins teamed with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to produce, ‘Broadway
Answers Selma.’ Shortly thereafter Mr. Elkins was nominated for a Tony
Award for Best Play Producer for the double Tony Award winning South
African play, ‘Sizwe Banzi is dead’ and ‘The Island,’ both by the critically
acclaimed playwright and director, Athol Fugard.
Mr. Elkins was nominated for Best Musical Producer of The Year in 19701971. In the late 80’s it took Elkins a year to convince Hal Prince that the
world was ready for a Black Phantom. World renowned actor Robert
Gillaume, who earned rave reviews as the lead in ‘Phantom of the Opera,’
was also a client of Mr. Elkins. Mr. Gillaume blazed the trail to become the
ﬁrst African American actor to play the lead character in that role.
Mr. Elkins partnered with Jeff Stetson and director Bill Duke who was a
client to produce the American Playhouse presentation of ‘The Meeting’
- an apocryphal meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
The production received the prestigious Ohio State Award. The die was
cast, Hollywood had made a statement.
Today, Mr. Elkins is just as active as the day he set foot in the ofﬁces
of the William Morris Agency. Identifying, shaping and launching the
next generation of movers and shakers, he labors to secure the industries
integrity, in order that we the audience might be profoundly and indelibly
moved by the artist performance.
Talia Shire( who’s currently working on a play with Elkins producing),
Barry Corbin, Kit Carson (writer, actor currently recording The African
Diaries, with African children for digital use with the Sundance Channel),
Matthew Penn, Kent Faulcon and Bima Stagg (author of ‘Inside’ which
Hilly produced, is the story set in the Apartheid period directed by Arthur
Penn, which brought Hilly to love South Africa and was shown at Cannes
at the Directors Fortenight twice, and Stander about a South African Police
ofﬁcer) represent just a few more of the talented individuals assigned to
Mr. Elkins’ “Repertoire of the Great.”
With 2 new projects on the horizon; in collaboration with, Appian Way
Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, entitled “Cat’s Cradle” based on
the Classic novel by Kurt Vonnegut; and “The Timothy Leary story, there
doesn’t seem to be a limit to Mr. Elkins’ passion for his craft. Hilly states,
“Getting an actor to fall in love with what they are doing and convincing
them to go as far as they can, is a never-ending task.”

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Photo by Curtis Williams

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Dr.Allen Counter

was paddling a dugout canoe down the Rio
Cayapas in the rainforest of Ecuador in 1993
when he came across a tribe of Amerindians who
were apparently suffering from possible mercury
poisoning. These rainforest Indians lived in an
area where gold prospectors regularly mined for
gold and used mercury to separate the gold ore
from alluvial sediment. Many of these villagers
were questioning why their children were so sick
and had not associated their illness with mercury
poisoning. Dr. Counter immediately set out to do
something to help the people in the village. He
later met with Ecuadorian government ofﬁcials and
informed them of the suffering of their indigenous
people from what was clearly a preventable medical
problem. Dr. Counter is a professor of Neurology
and Neuroscience at Harvard University, where he
has worked for over 20 years. He has been called
by Spain’s respected PUBLICO magazine, “The
Indiana Jones of Neurology.”

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Dr. Counter returned to the Ecuadorian interior
each year thereafter, often more than once per
year, to visit the indigenous populations. In 1995,
he entered the village of El Teja, in the Cotapaxi
mountain area of the Andes, some 15,000
feet above sea level, where he was greeted by
numerous cheerful and smiling children. Upon
closer examination, Dr. Counter observed that
these beautiful Qetcheua children had permanent
black stains on their teeth, a sign of severe lead
poisoning. When he questioned the parents about
the childrens’ black teeth, he realized that neither
the children nor the parents understood the serious
medical implications of this symptom. Lead and
mercury exposure may cause severe brain damage,
including neurocognitive impairment, especially
in the developing brains of children. The local
schoolmaster in one village said that about 70
percent of the children in his school had learning
disabilities, possibly from lead exposure. Again,
Dr. Counter set out to do something about this
desperate medical situation and help these clearly
lead intoxicated children.
He had had little success in getting government
sponsored medical support for the children with
mercury poisoning, so he was determined to get

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DR. COUNTER SAVES A VILLAGE
both Ecuadorian and American doctors involved with medical intervention for these children.
Dr. Counter met with doctors at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador and
recruited them to join him in his effort to save the children of El Tejar from the heavy metal
poisons. He and his Ecuadorian medical team took blood, urine, and hair samples from
hundreds of children in the village and brought them back to America to be analyzed for their
lead and mercury content. To their surprise, the samples showed the children to have lead
and mercury levels that far exceeded those of children in the US or even adults who worked
with lead and mercury. Many had potentially fatal levels of lead in their blood that required
immediate medical intervention. Moreover, many of the nursing mothers were found to
have toxic levels of lead in their breast milk. Dr. Counter then assembled an international
medical team to investigate lead and mercury exposure among the indigenous populations
in the Ecuadorian mountains and rainforest. In one village, where most of the women of
child-bearing age work with lead extracted from car batteries to be used in the glazing of
ceramics, he found a six year old girl with a blood lead level of 128 micrograms per deciliter
of blood, which is more than 10 times higher than the Centers for Disease Control health
risk threshold of 10 micrograms per deciliter. Such high levels of lead poisoning were
astoundingly common in many children in her village. In another village, where gold mining
with elemental mercury is widespread, he found a young Saraguro Indian boy with a blood
mercury level of 89 micrograms per liter, which far exceeds the World Health Organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
level of 10 micrograms per liter as a threshold of danger.

DR. Allen S. Counter

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DR. COUNTER SAVES A VILLAGE

After determining the prevalence of heavy metal poisoning among these villagers, Dr. Counter established a
program for the treatment of the lead and mercury intoxicated families and an educational program to teach
the people of the villages about the hazards and risks of lead and mercury exposure. He wrote to numerous
international pharmaceutical companies to request donations of the most effective and current medicines
for the chelation therapy that is required to reduce the lead and mercury poisoning in the children. He was
able to get one company, Sanoﬁ Synthelabo, to provide him with over twenty-thousand dollars worth of the
latest medicine used in the treatment of lead and mercury poisoning. He then transported this medicine up
the mountains of Ecuador, and with the help of Ecuadorian doctors and local nurses treated scores of lead

46

and mercury poisoned children.
Over the past few years, Dr. Counter has witnessed a signiﬁcant decline in lead and mercury poisoning in
the children and adults of these contaminated villages, as a result of his medical treatment program and
his educational intervention. The success of his 12 years of biomedical work with the lead and mercury
poisoned children of Ecuador prompted the director of Harvard’s Rockefeller Center for Latin American
studies to remark at a recent Harvard gathering, “Dr. Allen Counter has saved an entire Latin American
village.”

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Nadia Duguay
On the Mission Field
As a teenager Nadia Duguay wanted only one thing from her future,

to become a missionary. Without any idea of what it could imply,
the concept of donating ones life for the poorest well burned on her
consciousness. Nadia begins her studies in this direction.

Nadia Duguay’s

Life being what it is, in 1999 she lost everything that was dear to her,
a profound questioning was necessary. She made a directional change
towards the world of visual arts, completed a bachelor’s degree in
Visual Arts and Medias, and was a tour round performer, videographer,
VJ and artistic director for cultural events. But still something was
missing.
In 2005 Nadia Duguay made the acquaintance of François-Xavier
Michaux. Part of his life had always been given to social engagement,
the other to the arts and culture. What if the combination of the two
was more meaningful than it looks? The idea went through its process
and several meetings later they consolidated this reﬂection and gave
it beautiful wings. Today they share not only their lives but also the
direction of Exeko.
François-Xavier armed with a dual master’s degree in engineering
and project management joins the socio-cultural background of
Nadia Duguay for what might be called the Exeko adventure. This
organization specializes in the development and realization of sociocultural projects co-founded in 2006. The general idea; create value by
ﬁnding creative solutions to social problems often seen and perceived
as immutable and unchanging.
They oscillate from the idea that all projects have a similar base;
Management and Networking: that is the capacity to surround itself
with competent persons supporting the same human values. And
also to add a touch of meaning to management, they put forward
the idea of responsible project management or better yet, ethical
project management, a concept which includes the impact on social,
environmental and more widely; human conditions.

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Nadia Duguay
This idea reﬂects itself in any project they undertake but
also in managing daily operations and collaborations; their
policy of exchange of services and donation of services are
a good example.
Exeko operates as a dual structure: the Non-Proﬁt
Organization is responsible for humanitarian projects and
a private company to achieve a broader spectrum. But be
careful, even the private company has a clear policy of proﬁts
and redistribution. Exeko, in this sense, is in the new wave of
social enterprises. The aim is clearly not to raise a personal
fortune but rather to use the resources, the professionalism
and the tools, that are especially present in the world of
private business, to generate what might be called the social
beneﬁt. In addition combining business with social causes
is not an impossibility... Projects are multiplying as are
meetings with good people as well.
From the beginning, artist, thinker, psychologist and
businessman, Wayne Schoenfeld became a partner of
exceptional value. Schoenfeld and Exeko continue to
partner in multiple projects.
From the coordination of
exhibitions to the production of the documentary movie ‘The
Memory Box’; the ﬁrst one of a series designed to recognize
and give a voice to various initiatives in cooperation with
local and international development throughout the world.
All this, through the production of contemporary work
and newly developing a humanitarian tourism project will
immerse in this documentary.
The next project for Exeko; Art, Culture and Society. This is a
key project which aims social integration of people in difﬁcult
circumstances; in particular youth and inmates, by teaching
reﬂexive tools and critical thinking. This program is a mix of
theory in philosophy, sociology and art in popularized words
and totally accessible to all. Moreover Nadia pointed out that
these theories have always identiﬁed solid benchmarks for
the development of man and society, why would it be more
accessible to the rich or more educated?

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Nadia Duguay

Among the realizations of Exeko we can still cite a program of therapeutic humanitarian
clowning that was also born from the collaboration with Schoenfeld and that are now
in partnership with Dr. Clown, Canada and Patch Adams. The project sends therapeutic
clowns into medical humanitarian missions to provide a complement therapy through
laughter and games for children who have lost much of the opportunity to live their
childhood out simply.

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And the future in all this? Nadia Duguay identiﬁes it as open and especially moving! The
ideas, determination, commitment and innovation as ideas for projects ﬂood in. While it
could be summarized in a single desire, and why not ... Changing the world. She notes that
with more human and ﬁnancial resources, mountain moving would certainly be possible.
For more information on Exeko and Nadia Duguay’s projects: www.exekoproject.com

Universal Plant Medicine
We are living in an age of globalization. The gap
between culture and traditional medicine is being
bridged like never before. Plant knowledge from
the Amazon to the Himalayas, are being used
by modern herbalists. Along with this shared
knowledge comes the obligation to preserve
our planet’s natural resources. Many species of
beneﬁcial plants will never be ‘discovered’ due
to deforestation and encroaching populations.
Other species of herbs, such as wild panex,
ginseng and cordyceps, are endangered due to
overharvesting and high consumer demand.
Many companies recognize this plant medicine
crisis and have taken steps to reverse the cycle.
This includes organic farming, fair trade to
indigenous farmers and public education. We
now can ﬁnd Chinese herbs grown organically in
California and endangered Napalese mushrooms
being farmed in Oregon. Whole communities
in Peru, China and North America, are being
supported by organic farming of plant medicines.
Here is a list of gold standard companies to
support; Essential Living Foods, New Chapter,
Gaia, Eclectic Institute, Fu Tian Herbs, Amazon

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www.ourfarmacy.com

59

Therapeutics, Secara and Bio Life. All these lines can be found at
the Farmacy in Venice, California.
Plant medicine is a viable option to many western pharmaceuticals.
In fact, many of the strongest western drugs are plant derivatives.
Some examples include aspirin (white willow bark), sulfonamide
antibiotics (isatis leaves), mevacor (red yeast rice), and morphine
(opium shells/husks). Herbs can provide similar results without
the side effects from concentrated drugs. This is due to other
plant constituents; antioxidents, polysaccharides, aminoacids and
plant sterols. These plant chemicals work together to balance the
therapeutic effects and are not available once a single compound
is isolated into a drug. For example, folium isatidis has known
antibiotic effects but also strengthens immunity by increasing
t-cell counts. This duel action is what makes herbal medicine
adaptable to a broad range of conditions.
The demand for herbal medicine is growing exponentially. Along
with this demand comes a responsibility to promote sustainable
industries. This can be done by seeking out Licensed Herbalists
and companies that are pursuing global wellness.
Jesse Phelps, M.T.O.M., L.Ac., B.Sc.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Herbal Director, The Farmacyâ&#x20AC;?

JoAnna LaForce, R.Ph.,
CGP, Herbalist
Joanna is Clinical Director
of The Farmacy(R)
She has been a Reg.
Pharmacist and Herbalist
for the past 30 years and
Board Certiﬁed in Geriatric
Pharmacy. Her experience
with pain management for
Hospice Patients enables
her to forge the way to a
more holistic approach
to health and a healthier
future for all

I had the great opportunity to travel to Nepal this Fall with my Nepali friends. During the

220 mile trek around the Annapurna Circuit of the Himalayas I observed various healing
rituals by the village medicine men. They gather and use locally grown wild medicinal plants
and herbs. I was impressed to see Cannabis sativa being harvested along with Ephedra
gerardiana and Rhododendron arboreum (yes, the rhododendron is medicinal). Western
doctors, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines are virtually extinct.
Like many third world countries, however, knowledge of these natural treasures is being
lost. As villagers and young people move into the cities and to other countries, they want
the “new”, not the “old”. Luckily, many herbalists and ecological companies are exploring
these areas and bringing medicinal plants to the Western World. Good for us!
The most important thing I learned on this challenging trek is that
Your Health is Your Wealth.
At The FarmacyR we are working hard to take the mystery out of global herbal medicines. I
know that education is the key.
Take the time to visit our shops and clinics in person or learn more on OurFarmacy.com

AUDIS HUSAR FINE ARTS
AN ARTIST IN REPRESENTATION WITH AMY DELAPORTE
Tucked in the most unexpected location, in the heart of Beverly Hills, Audis Husar is the curator of a different kind of gallery, where cinematic arts and the works of contemporary artists are combined to provide art
lovers and collectors alike a very unique multimedia experience.
Audis Husar Fine Art is located at 8670 Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills. It is comprised of a Gallery and a 37
seat private screening room that once belonged to none other than Dino de Laurentis. In the past 5 years the
Gallery has been host to many exhibits. Some were centered on the art itself and a film was chosen to
complement the artists’ vision, others spun from a film and the art came in complement the cinematic
content.
Audis Husar remembers fondly each, and everyone, of her exhibits but one that has stuck with her was
centered on Martin Scorcese’s “The Aviator”, with art from the Howard Hughs Collection, along with
sketches and drawings of avionics from the 40’s.
In 2008 Audis Husar Fine Arts was looking to do something a little different and so they chose to incorporate
fashion with art in an exhibit entitled “Stillness and Motion”.
“Stillness and Motion” was set during LA Fashion Week and it featured designer Coco Johnsen’s highly
acclaimed Spring/Summer 2009 collection inspired from the magic of Hollywood Glamour of Old. To
complement this exhibit Audis presented a show of recent works by Wally Gilbert, a Nobel Prize wining
Molecular Biologist turned photographer, whose digital work showcase the artist’s fascination with form,
color and texture.
Wally Gilbert had a long career as scientist but his new passion in the visual arts has found expression
through the eye of the camera. Since the beginning of his journey of artistic discovery, Gilbert has had 17
one-person shows around the world and his current stop is in Beverly Hills, at Audis Husar Fine Art. The

AMY DELAPORTE and AUDIS HUSAR
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FEATURNG WALLY GILBERT
Exhibit boasts four very different sets that combine candid shots of The Boston Ballet in rehearsals, Madrid
bullfights in low-res that stretched to the limit catch even the swirl of a cape, two ten foot hangings of haunting bodies in motion, and intimate still life images from Turkey.
Amy Delaporte, who has been a respected and sought-after art professional for over a decade, represents
Gilbert. Through her Art Client Services in Santa Monica, CA, she provides a select group of artist, emerging
and established, with support and guidance in all aspects of their artwork. Amy defines this exhibit in its
eclectic ensemble as an exercise on this intemporal theme of “stillness in motion”. Indeed, Gilbert’s art
exploits the play of light and darkness across objects and subjects to produce photographs that capture every
vibration and the essence in one fleeting moment in time.
As she sits in front of the two prominent ten foot canvas hangings of silhouettes in the sky reflected in a pool
of water, Audis Husar speaks so passionately about her artist and his artistic expression.
She recalls an exhibit entitled “But Is It Art?” a collection of art and artists involved with some of the greatest
music shows and productions in classic and contemporary rock history. The film that spearheaded the exhibit
was Andrew Sharper' “Before the Music Dies” and the exhibit drew great reviews.
- What will this very inspired woman think of next?
Audis Husar Fine Art will be hosting an exhibit on Politics in Art that will be launched on January 17th, 2009.
This exhibit will showcase artists whose work has been strongly imprinted with our political landscape in
anticipation of a radical change that is now in the coming on January 20th, 2009 – soon but not soon enough.
The exhibit has been matched with the extraordinary 2005 documentary on Rev. Martin Luther King, “Doctor
Martin Luther King - a Historical Prospective”. Audis Husar Fine Arts is eagerly looking forward to this
upcoming exhibit that will follow “Stillness” with all the emotion of an entire nation and the weight of history
in motion.